Setting Idea - Wizards For the People

[FlumphPaladin]

In my worldbuilding project that's been growing for quite a while now, I've come up with a Grand Unified Theory of Magic. To wit, in this setting, there is no distinction between arcane, divine, and psionic magic; they are all uses of the same energy (here called dweomer). Dweomer is conducted through different substances and objects in different ways, including the sparks of a sentient brain. Apparent differences come from the mode in which dweomer is controlled:

• Psions manipulate dweomer intuitively, using only the power of the mind.
• Sorcerers do basically the same, but their physiology restricts the ways in which they can do it, hence their limited spell list. This also lends itself to themed spell selection when leveling up.
• Clerics, paladins, druids, and other "divine" casters effect the same brainwave patterns and so forth that the first two do by intensive discipline and devotion. This often takes the form of religion, but not necessarily, accounting for the possibility of non-affiliated clerics, who follow only an ideal or a domain. This devotion also colors the types of spells they can cast.
• Wizards are the new kids on the block. They lack the inborn talent that psions and sorcerers have, and for whatever reason do not have the singular devotion that clerics have. However, they are diligent students. They study dweomer and the way it flows through conducive objects, places, and people, and learn how to use these effects to control dweomer themselves.

While you need a special gift to be a psion or a sorcerer, and you need to meet certain requirements to be a cleric, ANYONE can become a wizard. This makes those existing casters in positions of power nervous regarding their job security, and makes temporal leaders nervous because of the level of power that can become available. As such, these groups try to marginalize and repress wizardry wherever possible.

Wizards, meanwhile, find themselves transformed from the ANSI standard reclusive elitists to populists. Common people may fear them, as they're told to do, but still they experiment, and the results of their work (powerful potions, wands, scrolls) are becoming more and more available in the world. Tension is growing, and the pan is primed for adventure!

What could some other implications of this be?

[HammeredWharf]

Wizards could start spreading their own propaganda. Unlike those high-brow jerks, wizards are just commoners like YOU! In fact, YOU can join the Wizards' Guild TODAY and learn the wonders of magick!¹⁾

On the other hand, the other groups could start spreading lies about wizards. Where do these suspicious new guys get their power from? Demon worship? Human sacrifice? Maybe they don't have any power and are just puppets of an evil secret society! Don't trust them! Make your donation to the Order of Still Mind TODAY and receive a free lvl 1 magick as a bonus!

Some evil organization might, in fact, be posing as groups of wizards. What, Blasphemy? Don't be ridiculous! Of course it's a wizard spell! We're not a cult of Baphomet or anything. Pff, such ignorance, sir!

Of course, commoners aren't the only resource these groups will be fighting over. Nobles and politicians are arguably even more important. Come to think of it, king Bob III has had some... issues lately and a friendly druidic circle of Erectus tried to help him in vain. However, the wizard Suprem Arcan²⁾ claims he has just the solution, and while several organizations have expressed distrust in this upstart, the king is getting desperate and may try the new cure soon...

^{1) Int 11 required.
2) pseudonym}

[Vitruviansquid]

I would find this setting somewhat inconsistent.

If being a wizard required intense education and learning about deeper, then there must be an institution in place or some kind of educational system to train them. Those institutions would have likely been monopolized by the pre-existing elite or be the basis of the society's elite.

It would make more sense to me for sorcerers and psions to be the rebels when, for instance an average low class family has recessive psion or sorcerer genes and suddenly has a child that somehow has those genes expressed.

My skepticism aside, I would say the most important greater implication of wizards being "of the people" is that wizardly arts would be considered lowbrow and disreputable. Actually, it would be quite like how fortune tellers are thought about today.

[Segev]

To be fair, if education is the requirement, it would make sense that it took getting to a certain level of societal wealth before wizards started to be "a thing." Education becomes more and more widespread as wealth increases. Most populist revolutions actually do start I the mid-upper class, with idealistic students of philosophy eager to apply their learning and with leisure time to do so.

When it was "inborn talent" and "dedicated devotion," it could be controlled by elevating those "born with the gift" to the elite oligarchy and keeping the faith-based magic intensely focused on its own religious practices (also tied to the oligarchy, and something of a restrictive order anyway).

When merchant-class children start to learn it, their commonality is too clear to let them into the social club of the "special elite magically gifted;" they're the neuveau riche of the setting. And as it becomes clear that anybody with the money and time can learn this, it starts to threaten the "specialness" of the oligarchy, as well as invites more and more people to seek that same "specialness" through wizardry. The tensions as the newly-empowered scholar-mages demand the same privileges as the insular oligarchy naturally leads to the potential for "rebellion" both overt and covert, both violent and social.

[FlumphPaladin]

Bob

Erectus

Does King Bob's national anthem need to be whistled?

If being a wizard required intense education and learning about deeper, then there must be an institution in place or some kind of educational system to train them. Those institutions would have likely been monopolized by the pre-existing elite or be the basis of the society's elite.

Good point indeed... Would an apprenticeship model be more believable? I envision wizardry to be something brand-new in this setting, perhaps even in its first generation. Such co-opting and institutionalization may yet happen, however.

It would make more sense to me for sorcerers and psions to be the rebels

If common folk are conditioned to fear and suspect magic users (at least those without, say, church approval), I can certainly see sorcerers and psions who are born into such an environment becoming rebellious themselves.

I would say the most important greater implication of wizards being "of the people" is that wizardly arts would be considered lowbrow and disreputable. Actually, it would be quite like how fortune tellers are thought about today.

I had thought of reckless, unreliable, and dangerous, but I never considered lowbrow and disreputable! Good idea!

[hifidelity2]

You need to work out the level of study etc required to be a wizard.

This would then let you determine who its taught to
e.g. All people (who attend school) get taught some basic cantrips
Universities might teach (approved) 1st, 2nd and 3rd level spells (years 1 -3)

This could means that most Nobel and middleclass people (or their children) are now Wizards (even if weak ones)

This will have a fundamental impact on society. A farmer could have unseen servants doing the planting - now no need to unskilled labour

You could go through the spell book and see how if the spells are common how it will affect businesses & so society

The unskilled would resent losing their jobs to Magic - idea ground for the Clerics etc to ferment resentment, riots, lynch mobs etc

[Joe the Rat]

To be fair, if education is the requirement, it would make sense that it took getting to a certain level of societal wealth before wizards started to be "a thing." Education becomes more and more widespread as wealth increases. Most populist revolutions actually do start I the mid-upper class, with idealistic students of philosophy eager to apply their learning and with leisure time to do so.

When it was "inborn talent" and "dedicated devotion," it could be controlled by elevating those "born with the gift" to the elite oligarchy and keeping the faith-based magic intensely focused on its own religious practices (also tied to the oligarchy, and something of a restrictive order anyway).

When merchant-class children start to learn it, their commonality is too clear to let them into the social club of the "special elite magically gifted;" they're the neuveau riche of the setting. And as it becomes clear that anybody with the money and time can learn this, it starts to threaten the "specialness" of the oligarchy, as well as invites more and more people to seek that same "specialness" through wizardry. The tensions as the newly-empowered scholar-mages demand the same privileges as the insular oligarchy naturally leads to the potential for "rebellion" both overt and covert, both violent and social.

Hence the evolution of colleges from purely ecclesiastical institutions to tutor young lords to learning and networking centers for second sons and merchant's children. (More or less. History gets badly butchered in my brain). This actually gives you a start point for wizardry: divine magic. The essentials are taught as tradition dictates, but some wiz-kid dwoemeric stopped and asked "how does it work, really?" And from there, "How can we do it without sitting around like a monk all day? I'd much rather be at the salons impressing wenches (and/or wenchmen) and discussing bad poetry!"

...at which point this radical study group gets kicked out, censured, excommunicated, etc., but the material is out there. Phamphlets and secret codes and all sorts of Dan Brown nonsense. Secret cells of intellectuals poking around like alchemists, only being far more successful. You say birth of Wizardry, I say cusp of the Renaissance. Really, anyone who is clever enough, can read, and gets ahold of the basic principles can start wizarding in their garage.


So here's a question: Warlocks. Not inborn talent. Not discipline. Not being really clever and studious. Just making a deal with something to get a taste of that power. Have you thought about these folks? And would that be something of old (hence Wizards getting the bad rap), and/or something seeing a recent rise from the birth of wizardry (as an easy path to power, and one truly available to the common man).